Florida People, Officials Differ On Immigration

Monday

Feb 25, 2008 at 2:50 AMFeb 25, 2008 at 6:15 AM

Second in a series of stories on major issues facing the Florida Legislature, which convenes March 4.By CAROL E. LEENYT Regional Media GroupTwo-thirds of Florida voters say they want tougher government action against illegal immigration.

And, on the surface at least, the Florida Legislature is responding.

A dozen bills calling for stronger immigration enforcement and regulations have been filed in the Legislature this year - more than double the number last year. The movement is in step with dozens of other states, which are trying to confront illegal immigration themselves in the absence of federal reform.

But in a state with the third-largest immigrant population in the country - an estimated 3.5 million - these bills already face resistance from business- and immigrant-advocacy groups.

And top leaders in state government are not showing much support, either. Gov. Charlie Crist and House Speaker Marco Rubio, who have been at odds on many issues, have shown no signs of pushing tougher immigration laws.

"The agriculture and construction and hospitality industries in Florida would collapse without undocumented immigrants," said Rep. David Rivera, a Miami Republican and close friend of Rubio. "The prospects for success for these types of proposals are dim."

Some leading Republicans see a harsh stance on immigration as a losing position for the GOP, which has slipped in approval among the nation's fastest-growing voting bloc: Latinos, who now represent11 percent of registered voters.

"Politicians that use this as a wedge issue, it's a loser," former Gov. Jeb Bush said of immigration in an October interview with The Hoover Institution. "To totally disarm a group that is the only group that is growing in our country … we do it at our peril. It's wrong and it's stupid."

The bills in Florida's Legislature would, among other things, penalize farmers and government contractors caught hiring undocumented workers, place stricter regulations on public benefits, and require local police to notify federal authorities after arresting illegal immigrants.

Currently, certain regulations, such as having state contractors participate in a federal program to verify their employees' legal status, are voluntary. These bills seek to make them mandatory and allow Florida to levy penalties for violations.

Supporters of the bills say they address the concerns of Florida voters, two-thirds of whom said in a December Quinnipiac University poll that they favor stricter enforcement of immigration laws over integrating illegal immigrants into the United States.

The bills' supporters say stopping illegal immigrants from moving to Florida will save money for legal residents and citizens, and make competition more fair for businesses.

"The state needs to level the playing field for lawful businesses," said David Caulkett, vice president of Floridians for Immigration Reform. "The frustration is just built up."

But Floridians' positions on immigration are not clear-cut.

Exit polls in the state's Jan. 29 presidential primary showed that nearly 60 percent of voters would allow illegal immigrants to stay as temporary workers or gain a path to citizenship.

Critics of the immigration bills say they would force businesses to increase wages and to pay more for benefits, which would make it difficult for them to afford workers and would raise prices for consumers.

"People need to think very carefully about what they want because of the economic consequences," said Sheila Hopkins, associate director for social concerns at the Florida Catholic Conference. "In Florida particularly, we are very vulnerable because of agriculture and tourism being our two biggest industries."

Florida's influx of immigration bills this year follows a national trend.

Nationally, the number of immigration laws adopted by states last year nearly tripled since 2006, from 84 to 240, according to a 2007 report by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Most aspects of immigration policy, such as border control, are handled by the federal government.

Immigration debates in legislatures across the country largely focus on identification issues, such as driver licenses, employment and public health and education benefits.

The most comprehensive bill under consideration in Florida this year was modeled after a package adopted in Oklahoma last year. The bill, filed by Rep. Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs, targets businesses who hire illegal immigrants and requires law enforcement to determine the legal status of those arrested for drunken driving or boating.

It would also force local law enforcement to share information with federal agencies about the legal status of immigrants.

Opponents say the legislation could result in racial profiling and discourage immigrants from reporting crimes.

Proponents say it would encourage deportation of illegal immigrants.

Brown said he decided to focus on immigration after receiving a "vehement response" to an e-mail cartoon he forwarded last year that said, "Don't forget to pay your taxes on April 15. 12 million illegal aliens are counting on you." (He later apologized to legislators for the e-mail).

"It became more apparent to me that there was a more of a problem there than I had realized," said Brown, adding that he does not expect his bill to pass easily.

"Florida's not Oklahoma," Brown said. "It's going to be up to every member of the legislature to act according to their conscience and their constituency."

Except for a bill to prohibit the use of the term "illegal alien" in state documents, all of the immigration bills in the Florida Legislature this year have been filed by Republicans, who control both chambers of the Legislature and the governor's office.

But in this demographically diverse state, one Republican legislator's illegal immigration crackdown is another's political minefield.

"For some people this is a real winner, but for a lot of Republicans in this state immigration is not a real winner," said Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota. "I just don't know if this is an issue the speaker and some of his closest allies want to see debated on the floor of the House."

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